BYU’s Torrid Third Quarter Swamps Texas in 41-7 Defeat

By Steve Habel/Associate Editor

Coming into the 2014 season many perceived that the Texas defense would act as a strong suit of the team and that that side of the ball might have the ability to win games on its own, a notion that seemed fortified after the Longhorns’ dominating performance in their season-opening win against North Texas.

In a stunning seven-minute stretch of the third quarter BYU scored 28 points on the way to a 41-7 dismantling of Texas before a stunned crowd of 93,463 fans.

That offensive explosion by the Cougars jettisoned any ideas about the Horns’ defense faster than the rocket man who performs a 30-second flying stint over Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium before each home game.

With all the emphasis placed on making sure that BYU wouldn’t beat Texas the way it did in 2013 (when the Cougars swamped UT 40-21 in Provo), it’s impossible to believe that the Longhorns might have played even worse.

Texas coach Charlie Strong said he recognized before the game[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] that his team did not seem fully focused or ready to give its best effort.

“It’s an embarrassment, an embarrassment to this program, an embarrassment to this university and I knew it and I didn’t do anything about it,” Strong said. “I take responsibility and all the blame for this loss. I knew during warmups we weren’t ready to play. I told the team we were not ready to play. Our focus wasn’t there.”

Yes, Texas was able to limit BYU dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill to just 280 all-purpose yards this time around (he had 259 yards rushing alone in 2013).

But the Horns couldn’t stop Hill from making the plays he needed when they counted the most, as he ended up with three touchdowns that included a scintillating 30-yard scoring scramble on which he jumped over Texas safety Dylan Haines on the way into the end zone.

A heavy loaded rested on the back of sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes Saturday as he started for the first time after David Ash remained absent from the game due to continuing symptoms from a concussion. Swoopes played well at times, taking what the Cougars’ defense gave him while using the limited playbook he was allowed by the Texas coaching staff.

Swoopes threw for 176 yards and the Horns’ lone TD on a 13-yard pass to John Harris with 29 seconds to play in the third quarter, long after the game had been decided by BYU’s four-touchdown rush to victory. In the first half Swoopes completed 11 of 15 passes for 100 yards after hitting on his first eight throws.

“Tyrone did a great job in his first start,” Texas assistant head coach for offense/QBs coach Shawn Watson said. “I saw a lot of things that we can build on. I’m really encouraged by what I saw in his play.”

BYU (2-0) managed just two Trevor Samson field goals in the first half – from 21 yards out with 3:30 to play in the first quarter and from 29 yards away at the 6:34 mark of the second period – despite outgaining the Horns 197-136 over the first 30 minutes of play.

In the first half the Texas defense held BYU to just 46 yards on the ground and an even 100 yards through the air in the first half, a huge improvement over its performance in 2013 in Provo.

The Horns sacked Hill four times for minus-25 yards in the first half, but also got lucky when the shifty signalcaller broke loose for a 66-yard touchdown run that was called back for a silly holding penalty on the Cougars that was 20 yards behind the play.

All the good work disappeared like a flash in the third quarter. BYU scored on its first possession after halftime as Hall engineered a nine-play, 75-yard march that culminated in his highlight-reel 30-yard TD run. The Cougars added to their lead on the next drive, moving 55 yards to an Adam Hi’ne 16-yard touchdown run in five snaps that expanded the BYU lead to 20-0.

The Cougars were far from finished. A quick three and out by the Longhorns and an 18-yard punt return by BYU’s Mitch Juergens set the table for a seven-play drive that ended in Hill’s 2-yard TD run and a 27-0 lead. Then UT’s Marcus Johnson fumbled the ensuing kickoff return and handed BYU a short field at the Texas 24; it took the Cougars just four plays to score on Hill’s 1-yard plunge.

By that time the majority of the Texas fans had headed for the exits.

“If I was in the stands, I would have left too,” Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said. “I told you all week that Hill was a great quarterback – he reminds me of Tim Tebow – and the way we played tonight against him turned him into a Heisman Trophy contender. When you give up 28 points in one quarter, you’re not ready to play.”

Swoopes’ TD pass to Harris (who had eight catches for a team high 77 yards) allowed the Horns to avoid the shutout. BYU added a late score on Hi’ne’s eight-yard run but by then it really didn’t matter.

Texas (1-1) has to get its wits about itself in a rush. Three of the Horns’ next four games – beginning with UCLA Sept. 13 in AT&T Stadium in Arlington – come against teams in the Associated Press top 10. It’s a make-or-break stretch for Texas, but first the Horns have to lick their wounds from the thrashing inflicted by BYU for the second straight season.

“We’ve still got a ways to go,” Strong said. “We still have games left to go play. We’re going to come together and learn from this. We’ll be able to grow from it, and see if we can fight back through adversity and put this team back together and continue on and go play the next few.”

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